By Lyndsie Kiebert-Carey
Reader Staff
Hopping on a boat and fishing the fickle fall waters of Lake Pend Oreille is not for the faint of heart. That hasn’t stopped oodles of locals from layering up, checking their tackle and starting their motors each year for the Lake Pend Oreille Idaho Club’s annual Thanksgiving Derby, this year scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 19 through Sunday, Nov. 27, with the only pause in the action being Thanksgiving Day, this year on Thursday, Nov. 24.
“Looks like the weather will be the biggest question, but it seems that there are a lot of boats with space heaters and lots of fisherpersons who are hardy enough to handle the weather,” said LPOIC Vice President Dave Gillespie.
Classifications and rules are largely the same as in years past, Gillespie said, and the derby will continue to feature member bonuses as well as special catch-and-release bonuses for rainbow trout, which are meant to encourage anglers to let the lake’s prized species thrive.
Gillespie said the catch-and-release incentive seems to be “catching on,” as other local fishing clubs adopt similar options in their derbies.
The adult division of the Thanksgiving Derby offers cash prizes for the top four rainbows (must be 32 inches minimum) and also for the top 10 mackinaw. Top prizes for each species are $2,000 and $1,000, respectively.
There is also a junior division for anglers ages 13-17, with the minimum rainbow size being 28 inches. There are also two youth divisions with no minimum rainbow length.
Tickets for the LPOIC Thanksgiving Derby are $50 for adults, $10 for juniors and free for those in the youth division. Tickets can be purchased at Holiday Shores Resort, Mark’s Marine, the Captn’s Table, Sandpoint Marine, MacDonald’s Hudson Bay Resort, Fins and Feathers, Ralph’s Coffee House, Priest River Hardware, Odie’s Bayside Grocery, North 40, North Ridge Outfitters, Bayview Mercantile, Black Sheep Sporting Goods and Super Fly.
Weigh stations throughout the derby will be located at Holiday Shores in Hope, the public boat ramp in Garfield Bay and at MacDonald’s Hudson Bay Resort in Bayview. Those stations will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, except on Thanksgiving. The derby will end on Sunday, Nov. 27 at 4 p.m.
More than $10,000 in cash and prizes will be given out across all divisions. Gillespie said that LPOIC, a nonprofit organization, is always seeking sponsors for prize packages and those interested can contact [email protected].
Find derby updates and learn more about the club at facebook.com/lpoic.
